Shloka 39
ते प्रयाता व्यरोचन्त परानभिमुखास्त्रय: । हूयमाना यथा यज्ञे समिद्धा हव्यवाहना:,शत्रुओंकी ओर जाते समय वे तीनों तेजस्वी वीर यज्ञमें आहुति पाकर प्रज्वलित हुए तीन अग्नियोंकी भाँति प्रकाशित हो रहे थे
te prayātā vyarocanta parānabhimukhās trayaḥ | hūyamānā yathā yajñe samiddhā havyavāhanāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As those three set out, facing toward their enemies, they shone brilliantly—like three fires in a sacrifice, kindled and blazing when oblations are poured into them. The image underscores how the warriors’ ardor is being fed by the very act of going to violence, as if war itself were a grim ritual that intensifies their destructive power.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses sacrificial-fire imagery to show how intention and momentum can intensify moral danger: when warriors move toward violence, their power can flare up as if ‘fed’ by the act itself. It invites reflection on how war can mimic ritual certainty while still being ethically fraught, especially in the Sauptika context of nocturnal slaughter.
Sañjaya describes three men setting out toward the enemy camp. As they advance, they appear radiant and formidable, compared to three sacrificial fires blazing when offerings are poured—foreshadowing the destructive action that will follow in the Sauptika Parva.